It is a Broadway convention for theater critics to wait until opening night before reviewing a show.

They don’t literally scribble their raves and pans that exact evening, of course, any more than the press agents and producers wait breathlessly at Sardi’s waiting for the story to come hot off the presses.

Nowadays, they’ve all seen preview performances and have written their reviews beforehand, but they agree to wait until tomorrow’s paper to publish, or at least 10 p.m. before putting their review online.

So why did Newsday post its review of “Hamlet,” which opens tonight with Jude Law at New York’s Broadhurst Theatre, this afternoon?

Isn’t that breaking the rules?

“They do it quite often,” said the play’s publicist, Jim Byk of Boneau/Bryan-Brown. He sounded slightly annoyed but also resigned to it.

“They just break an embargo and run the review. I’ve called it to their attention and they don’t really care.” He hadn’t even called to complain today.

Many “embargos” related to corporate or government announcements are blatant attempts to manipulate the media, and the better publications try not to conform to them any more, especially in this amped-up, competitive Internet news cycle. And there’s a difference between agreeing specifically to abide by an embargo and ignoring a one-sided request for one (as this is, on the critics’ invitation).

But for a play or a movie or a TV show? Like any embargo-breaking, it’s unfair to the other reporters, but in the case of “Hamlet,” the production already ran in London and was widely-reviewed.

And it’s only a play. No spoilers here, either–we all know, after all, how the play turns out.

However, Newsday said it didn’t intend to inflict any tragic consequences. “It’s a mistake,” said Barbara Schuler, assistant managing editor. She didn’t respond to the notion that Newsday might have done this more than once.

Linda Winer, the critic, also said it was mistake. “We have a gentleperson’s agreement that we don’t run reviews before the opening,” she said. She acknowledged that this wasn’t the first time it had happened, however.

The etiquette, she admitted “seems a little quaint” in the online age. “But we’ve been trying not to do it.”

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.